Commission May Look At Taping Talks

CENTRAL FLORIDA - The Area - In Brief

August 3, 2004

Orange County commissioners may decide today whether their one-on-one meetings with each other should be tape-recorded.

Commissioner Teresa Jacobs proposed tightening the rules for such meetings Monday, one day after the Orlando Sentinel reported that Chairman Rich Crotty had met individually with county commissioners at least 23 times since 2002. Five of the six commissioners have met with each other under similar circumstances at least 30 times.

FOR THE RECORD - ********** CORRECTION OR CLARIFICATION PUBLISHED AUGUST 4, 2004 **********An item in The Area-In Brief feature on Page B3 of Tuesday's Local & State section about one-on-one meetings between elected Orange County officials incorrectly stated the number of times county commissioners have met individually with one another, outside of the commission's normal public meetings. Since 2002, there have been 30 such meetings, of which 23 have included County Chairman Rich Crotty.*************************************************************

The meetings took place in the offices of the chairman or commissioners, behind locked doors. Written records of the discussions were vague.

While the meetings met the letter of Florida's "Government in the Sunshine" laws, watchdogs said the practice could be intimidating for members of the public who want to attend or monitor the meetings.

Crotty proposed tighter rules himself Sunday, including having the meetings in rooms more accessible to the public and keeping a more detailed record kept of the conversation.

Jacobs, who has attended six such meetings since 2002, would go further, requiring that such meetings be tape-recorded, as regular County Commission meetings are.

She also suggested tighter rules for tracking contact with lobbyists, including more detailed sign-in logs for people visiting commissioners and equal scrutiny for lobbying visits outside the County Administration Building.

The changes probably will be discussed at today's County Commission meeting.